1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to an automatic cooking machine, and in particular relates to an automatic cooking and vending machine, for preparing, dispensing, and vending a plate of cooked food to a paying customer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many automatic cooking machines have been devised for cooking stir-fried Chinese dishes. However, such machines are generally intended for use within a kitchen of a restaurant, for enabling an untrained operator to prepare cooked food, and are not intended to dispense or sell cooked food directly to an individual customer. Accordingly, there is a need for an automatic cooking and vending machine, capable of automatically preparing a variety of Chinese foods, and additionally capable of dispensing and selling a plate of the cooked food directly to the customer.
A variety of automatic cooking machines have been devised for facilitating the process of cooking Chinese food. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,502 to Chapin appears to show an automatic cooking machine having a computer for selecting a particular food from a displayed menu, a plurality of food containers for holding the ingredients for the foods, a wok for frying foods, a spatula assembly for stirring the foods as they fry, and a timer for ensuring that the foods are fried for the proper amount of time.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,617 to Lee et al appears to show an automatic frying machine having a feeder device for automatically placing food materials into a pan, a frying and stirring device, a mechanism for turning the pan 180 degrees for serving the prepared food, and a washer for cleaning the pan.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,645 to Chang appears to show an automatic cooking machine having a feeding device, a frying device, a heating device, a server device, a washing device, and a computer for controlling the operation of the aforementioned devices.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.